Endeavor’s Dare toScale (D2S) growth programme will take place for a fifth consecutive year.Starting today, 10 April 2023, the platform is open, and all companies with aturnover of more than BGN 200,000 in the past year and up to 150 employees canapply to participate at this link. The deadline for applications is 30 April 2023. The programme isorganised by the Bulgarian office of the global entrepreneurial networkEndeavor with Postbank as the main partner, with the support of Software Group,the Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as well as with equitypartner SeedBlink.

The programme is opento companies that already have a proven product or service on the market, fromall sectors of the economy and from all regions in Bulgaria. Entrepreneurs whohave expressed interest in participating and have completed the applicationform will go through a selection process in which the Dare to Scale team,mentors and business leaders from the Endeavor network will choose the finalparticipants. Similar to last year, one of the spots in the programme isreserved for an organisation/company developing its work for the benefit ofsociety.

So far, over 80entrepreneurs from 43 companies have taken part in the previous editions ofDare to Scale, with seven of them receiving funding for a total of over BGN 3million after their participation in the programme. In 2022, 40 mentors workedwith the companies and a total of over 140 hours of training and meetings wereheld. Two of the companies received funding from a D2S alumni participant andstrategic partnerships were formed between the individual companies. Among thekeynote speakers at the workshops were Vasil Terziev (Partner at the ElevenFund), Svetozar Georgiev (Co-founder of Telerik Academy and the Campus Xincubator), Vins Gaydardzhiev (Founder of Alcatraz.ai), Hristo Hristov (ExecutiveDirector of Darik Radio), Filip Popov (Head of Small Business Banking Division atPostbank) and others. Detailed information about the program is available here.

Dare to Scale willtake place in Sofia and will last four months – from September to December2023. Company founders will have the opportunity to participate in specializedtrainings in key areas for the development of any scaling business:organization management, marketing and sales, business planning and capitalraising. Each company will have access to Endeavor’s local mentor network,whose mentors will support the founders with their entrepreneurial expertise.In addition, partners and directors from the consulting firm PwC Bulgaria willwork individually with all participants for a second year. They will holdregular mentoring meetings, using their extensive experience and expertise tohelp entrepreneurs overcome key challenges and develop opportunities in theirbusinesses.

The participants willbe able to join events during which they will get to know and exchangeexperiences with key figures in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The programmewill conclude with the final Demo Day event, during which the companies willpresent their businesses to a jury of established business leaders.

Momchil Vassilev, Managing Director of EndeavorBulgaria:

“We are happy and proud that the Dare to Scaleprogramme is an important part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bulgaria fora fifth consecutive year. We believe that this year we will select again a newgroup of inspiring and ambitious entrepreneurs, who, with their businesses, arechanging not only the economic environment in our country but also the shape ofour society. Based on the trainings, mentoring sessions and events in theprogramme, we aim to build on their knowledge and prepare them to scale theirbusinesses to new heights, even beyond those they have imagined. We are happyto have the resources, experience and mentoring network to give the startups inthe advanced stage of their development a boost in their growth journey.” 

Petia Dimitrova, CEO and Chairperson of the Management Board of Postbank:

“Fora fifth consecutive year, we share the satisfaction of being part of Dare toScale – a project with ambitious goals and real achievements. The programme isconvincing proof of the power of entrepreneurial drive and the ability to turnthis energy into measurable results. After four successful editions, weappreciate even more the potential of young companies that create value for theeconomy because we can follow their impressive development and encourage themwith our experience and self-confidence as innovators. We believe this is theformula for successful synergy in the ecosystem and this motivates us to investin this model that reflects our vision of interconnectedness and growth.”

About Endeavor:

Endeavor is an international non-profit organization with offices in 40 locations that helps entrepreneurs with big ideas and businesses grow quickly internationally. Endeavor’s entrepreneurs have the potential to change their countries and the world – they can be the key to long-term economic growth, job creation and innovation. Endeavor provides the selected entrepreneurs with access to markets, capital and talent in its network of over 4,000 mentors and world-class investors. In Bulgaria, Endeavor launched in July 2015 with the aim of expanding the organization’s presence in Europe. To date, the Bulgarian office has supported 100+ entrepreneurs from 50+ companies in three programmes –Endeavor Global Program, Regional Support Program and Dare to Scale. These entrepreneurs have created over 2,300 jobs and generated revenues of BGN 320million in the past year. www.endeavor.bg